Video: RNC jumps on Obama’s redistribution quote

posted at 11:21 am on September 19, 2012 by Ed Morrissey

It doesn’t take long these days for quotable quotes to end up as campaign ads, at least on the Internet. The RNC put together this web ad overnight that exploits the discovery of Barack Obama’s 1998 embrace of redistributionism, effectively pairing it with a December 2011 60 Minutes interview where Obama denied that his policies had anything to do with redistribution at all. It finishes with Mitt Romney’s speech at the Republican national convention, asking why anyone is surprised at the lousy Obama recovery while Obama attacks success:

Steve Kroft asked Obama about the redistribution charge (and the accusation that Obama is a socialist) in the CBS interview, and Obama provided this response:

Kroft asked Obama about his mention of “income inequality” in a speech last week, asking if this doesn’t suggest redistribution of wealth, which is (obviously) code for socialism. “People will say this is socialist Obama,” Kroft challenged. “And he’s come out of the closet.” Obama responded that this is nonsense, that income inequality has nothing to do with socialism. “Everybody’s concerned about inequality,” Obama said. “What’s happened to the bargain? What’s happened to the American deal that says, you know, we are focused on building a strong middle class?”

Just a reminder of the status of the middle class in the Obama recovery:

Household income is down sharply since the recession ended three years ago, according to a report released Thursday, providing another sign of the stubborn weakness of the economic recovery.

From June 2009 to June 2012, inflation-adjusted median household income fell 4.8 percent, to $50,964, according to a report by Sentier Research, a firm headed by two former Census Bureau officials.

Incomes have dropped more since the beginning of the recovery than they did during the recession itself, when they declined 2.6 percent, according to the report, which analyzed data from the Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey. The recession, the most severe since the Great Depression, lasted from December 2007 to June 2009.

Overall, median income is 7.2 percent below its December 2007 level and 8.1 percent below where it stood in January 2000, when it was $55,470, according to the report.

Blowback

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Comments

No, you are trying to lie about Ronald Reagan, not talk about him. Not that a bald faced Marxist lying sack of shit like you would know the difference between the truth and a lie.

SWalker on September 19, 2012 at 12:30 PM

I like and admire Reagan more than you.
So nyah.
Not your b.s. version…the real one.
The one who who greatly expanded and praised EITC following Carter’s much more modest introduction of it.
So why don’t you stop lying about Reagan.
Yea, I know…you can’t…and won’t.

I like and admire Reagan more than you.
So nyah.
Not your b.s. version…the real one.
The one who who greatly expanded and praised EITC following Carter’s much more modest introduction of it.
So why don’t you stop lying about Reagan.
Yea, I know…you can’t…and won’t.

verbaluce on September 19, 2012 at 12:41 PM

Yeah, I liked and admired Reagan too.
And I also happen to remember his analysis of
his 2 terms, and the one thing he had regrets over.

He had 5 objectives…I won’t list them here, but
I will give you the one he regretted.
Limiting Goverment SPENDING.

So maybe, just maybe, you should stop LYING about the man
and re-evaluate your research of him,
Yeah, I know…you can’t…and won’t.

Are you next gonna print Sympathy For The Devil Lyrics to show that Mick is indeed Satan?
Ha.

verbaluce on September 19, 2012 at 12:44 PM

Perhaps you should try reading the comments here more slowly. That might allow some of the actual content to penetrate your tiny brain, and permit you to have at least some minimal comprehension of the point being made.

Both parties redistribute money to their cronies and special interests. Bush was a big spender as well, increasing the debt by about 100% between two terms, more than half of that in his first term, meaning more than 50%. Obama has increased the debt by about 60% in his first term. All that debt was redistributed among various cronies and special interests regardless of which party was in charge.

“…What’s happened to the American deal that says, you know, we are focused on building a strong middle class?”

Ask Obama how he intends to “build” a middle class. Government entitlements are intended for the poor, the truly needy, those unable to help themselves, not the middle class. Giving away free stuff is how you build a dependent, permanent lower class. Equal opportunity has never meant equal outcome. People cannot be homogenized.

He did indeed but McCain made nothing of importance about it and the Obama mania was too big to overcome that time… Now after four years of utter failure, after proven in action that he is a socialist to say the least, this audio tape of him will be very damaging and Romney and Republicans are already giving it the importance that it deserves…

He did indeed but McCain made nothing of importance about it and the Obama mania was too big to overcome that time… Now after four years of utter failure, after proven in action that he is a socialist to say the least, this audio tape of him will be very damaging and Romney and Republicans are already giving it the importance that it deserves…

mnjg on September 19, 2012 at 5:19 PM

Didn’t Joe join them on the trail, ride on the bus, give speech after speech? I thought the dialogue with an average citizen on the streets of Ohio during the campaign was a lot more powerful than a 14 year old clip that aired on tv. I understand the tactic, it makes sense…. Just don’t know if there is any news here. If screaming Obama is a socialist was an effective strategy, Michelle B. would be the nominee.

I remember realizing years ago that many of my values can be traced back to the fairy tales and parables I learned as a child, the Little Red Hen, the goose that laid golden eggs, Chicken Little, the Gingerbread Man, Aesop’s Fables, etc.

Does it change anything for you guys that Reagan (the real one…not the made up one) vigorously supported and championed the EITC…you know… redistributiony stuff.
And he he was motivated out of a concern for…get this…the working poor.
In case you’ve forgotten about all that, pretty sure Obama will bring all this up in the debates.

verbaluce on September 19, 2012 at 12:02 PM

2 things.
first I am against it and always have been. someones kid count should not matter.
second a tax credit, as long as it does not work as a profit, is letting someone keep their own money. that is not redistribution.
a redistribution is if I also chose all the green writeoff crap I COULD do making it so my family received a tax refund greater then what we paid in. THAT IS STEALING other peoples money.
its also why I have never done it.
wife also does 2 jobs (I am disabled, not taking ssi/ss) so we do not have to steal money from you in food stamps, heat assistance, etc.
however if you are a fan of redistribution I can take paypal, I’ll let you put your money where your mouth is.
or are you only ok with it when you personally don’t actually have to deal with it and can let a bureaucracy do the work for you?

RNC is getting desperate if a 14 year old quote is the best they can come up with to deflect attention from Romney massive gaffe.

Ric on September 19, 2012 at 4:31 PM

The public has gotten tired of hearing about the media double standard even while they know it’s true. The best way to illustrate that Mitt is getting hammered out of nothing but pure bias is to pull out a similar “gaffe” from the Unexposed One.

Personally, I am a member of the 47%, but like always I will be voting against the Check-writer-in-Chief even though I know I’ll get fewer pocket-lining opportunities under a spending-responsible administration. Romney’s words were only a gaffe to people who think that talking around every question is the best way to win votes.

When you have to go back 14 years to dig out a quote nobody cares about, desperation has truly set in.

Mudhead on September 19, 2012 at 2:16 PM

No, desperation has set in when the Washington Post has to go back almost a half a century to find an anecdote about Mitt Romney in Prep School holding a classmate down and cutting his hair. And them publish it on Page 1.

And remember, Chimp, O’bamna set an alltime American Record in 2008 by winning 70% of the High School Dropout Vote. No other candidate had ever done that before.

“Despite what appears to be a plump bank account and an in-house production studio that cranks out multiple commercials a day, Mr. Romney’s campaign has been tightfisted with its advertising budget, leaving him at a disadvantage in several crucial states as President Obama blankets them with ads.

One major reason appears to be that Mr. Romney’s campaign finances have been significantly less robust than recent headlines would suggest. Much of the more than $300 million the campaign reported raising this summer is earmarked for the Republican National Committee, state Republican organizations and Congressional races, limiting the money Mr. Romney’s own campaign has to spend.”

Every Conservative blog is filled with people complaining about the lack of ads on the air. Watching Survivor tonight, there were 5 Obama ads and zero Romney spots. The Brewers game is filled with Obama and Tammy Baldwin ads. How many from Romney or Tommy Thompson? Zero.

You may think this is funny, but something is really wrong when Romney raises hundreds of millions of dollars and can’t afford a good ad buy.

Speaking at Univision “Meet the Candidates” Forum
The University of Miami, Miami, Fla.

Hosting Juntos Con Romney rally
10901 SW 24th St., Miami, Fla.

So according to the NYT, Romney hasn’t held a rally in 5 days. But Politico proves once again that the NYT is Lying Thru Their Teeth. In reality, he held a rally at 4:25 PM on Sunday, or less than 72 hours before this NYT story originally appeared.

As I educated you last night, Romney has been plastering the airwaves (TV, as well as AM and FM radio) all over New England over the past 3 weeks, especially in the Boston markets (he’s doing that to reach the other New England states that the Boston stations reach).

And here in New Hampshire, it’s O’bamna who is silent. He’s written NH off, as there have been no ads here.

We also get stations from the Mid Atlantic states here in New England (that would be NY, NJ, PA, etc). Plenty of Romney ads are running there on radio and TV.

Just because he’s not running ads in your state doesn’t mean he’s not running them elsewhere.

Romney’s candidacy is dying on the vine. I would be amazed if even Rasmussen doesn’t have him tanking within the week. When “money problems” becomes a big story (and it will resonate with Conservatives who wondered what was going on), the campaign is in it’s death spiral.

And I’m going to rub your know-it-all nose in this losing, rancid crap that is the Romney campaign.

“Obama tops Romney by seven percentage points among likely voters in
both Ohio (49-42 percent) and Virginia (50-43 percent). In Florida, the
president holds a five-point edge (49-44 percent).”

This race is OVER.

gumbyandpokey on September 19, 2012 at 9:36 PM

Obama tops Romney by seven percentage points among likely voters in both Ohio (49-42 percent) and Virginia (50-43 percent). In Florida, the president holds a five-point edge (49-44 percent).

Obama’s lead is just outside the poll’s margin of sampling error in Ohio and Virginia, and within the margin of sampling error in Florida.

The good news for Romney is that among voters who are “extremely” interested in this year’s election, the races are much tighter. Obama is up by just two points with this group in Virginia (49-47 percent), Florida is tied (48-48 percent), and Romney is up by one point in Ohio (48-47 percent).

For OH
Sample is
D 42 R 36 I 21
Among independents it is Romney by 4,(42 to 38)

For FL
D 42 R 37 I 20
Indies 45 B 43 R 9 Undecided

For VA
D 38 R 33 I 26
Indies 42 B 41 R 10 Undecided

Yet it is Barry by 7 in FL and OH, and by 5 in VA that was loudly trumpeted by Fox , other media and gumbypoked.

“Just because he’s not running ads in your state doesn’t mean he’s not running them elsewhere.”

Del,

Go on any Conservative site…hotair, ace of spades, freerepublic, redstate, etc, and you will find people furious that Obama ads outnumber Romney ads by 3-1 or 4-1. These comments come from people in swing states like Ohio, Florida and Virginia. And here in WI, where money that was taken out of MI was supposed to go, Romney is literally dark on the airwaves. If there are really money problems (and it would explain a lot, but My God, will there by a ton of questions), that is a far bigger story than any of the supposed gaffes from Mitt.

And here in WI, where money that was taken out of MI was supposed to go, Romney is literally dark on the airwaves. If there are really money problems (and it would explain a lot, but My God, will there by a ton of questions), that is a far bigger story than any of the supposed gaffes from Mitt.

Washington (CNN) – With the level of activity in Wisconsin picking up this week, both presidential campaigns have bought a second week of ad time there, a Republican source tracking media buys told CNN.

Washington (CNN) – With the level of activity in Wisconsin picking up this week, both presidential campaigns have bought a second week of ad time there, a Republican source tracking media buys told CNN.

Washington (CNN) – With the level of activity in Wisconsin picking up this week, both presidential campaigns have bought a second week of ad time there, a Republican source tracking media buys told CNN.

Flora Duh on September 19, 2012 at 10:23 PM”

Yeah, I’m sure there will be just as many ads as there have been from the money taken out of Michigan.

And great timing with Romney being destroyed by 14 pts in the MU poll.

And if you don’t believe me, go to Conservative talk show host Mark Belling (who subs for Rush) and listen to the podcast and the beginning of today’s show. He went on for an hour about both Romney and Thompson being dark in WI. Charlie Sykes and Jeff Wagner (from WTMJ) also ranted about no ads coming from the Republicans.